Visit Wilderness

Search for a wilderness as the destination for your next outdoor adventure.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Minnesota

Why Visit Wilderness?

While wilderness can be appreciated from afar—through online content, television, or books—nothing compares to experiencing it firsthand. Activities like camping, hiking, or hunting allow you to fully enjoy the recreational, ecological, spiritual, and health benefits that wilderness areas offer. These areas provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation,” chances to observe wildlife, moments to renew and refresh, and the physical benefits of outdoor exercise. In many wilderness areas, you can even bring your well-behaved dog.

Learn more about the diverse ways in which we benefit from wilderness and threats wilderness areas face today.

Fifteen miles of the Eagletail Mountains' rough ridgeline runs right through the northern section of this Wilderness, including 3,300-foot Eagletail Peak which rises from a low point of 1,100 feet within the Wilderness boundaries. Cemetery Ridge lies along the southern border.

Geology buffs can examine several distinct rock strata throughout these mountains, and everyone can marvel at such geologic wonders as natural arches, high spires and monoliths, jagged sawtooth ridges, and numerous washes between six and eight miles long. Courthouse Rock, a huge granite monolith, stands over 1,000 feet above the desert floor near the northern border and attracts technical rock climbers

Between the two main ridges stretches a vast desert plain of ocotillo, cholla, creosote, ironwood, saguaro cactus, barrel cactus, Mormon tea, mesquite, and sand.

Summer temperatures rage and send up thermals upon which raptors ride as they scan the landscape for a desert rodent snack. The great horned owl and the coyote live here, but they keep themselves well hidden from backpackers, campers, and horseback riders.

Temperatures can be as low as 30° Fahrenheit from December through January and can reach above 115° Fahrenheit from June to September.

Precipitation generally ranges from 2 to 4 inches per year. Rainfall, which can occur at any time of the year, is often preceded by strong and sudden windstorms. Watch for cloud build up and be aware of possible flash flooding in washes and drainages.

Leave No Trace

How to follow the seven standard Leave No Trace principles differs in different parts of the country (desert vs. Rocky Mountains). Click on any of the principles listed below to learn more about how they apply in the Eagletail Mountains Wilderness.

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

For more information on Leave No Trace, Visit the Leave No Trace, Inc. website.

Location

The Eagletail Mountains Wilderness is located 75 miles west of Phoenix just south of Interstate 10. It covers portions of Maricopa, La Paz, and Yuma counties.

Directions to Courthouse Rock:

From Phoenix: Take I-10 west to the Salome Road exit (#81). Turn left at the stop sign and make an immediate right onto Harquahala Valley Road and follow for 5 miles to the intersection of Centennial Road and Courthouse Road. Turn right onto Centennial Road and continue west for about 6.5 miles until reaching Pipeline Road (unmarked). Turn right onto Pipeline Road and follow it for 3.8 miles until reaching backcountry route YE013 (near the Wilderness designation sign). Turn left and park near the information kiosk.

From Quartzite: Take I-10 east to the Hovatter Road exit (#53). Turn right onto Hovatter Road. After crossing over the canal, turn left onto an unmarked dirt road. After 1 mile, turn right onto YE005. Follow YE005 until it dead-ends at Pipeline Road (unmarked). Turn left and continue until reaching the natural gas pumping station. Drive around the north side of the facility and continue east on Pipeline Road for seven miles until reaching backcountry route YE013 (near the Wilderness designation sign). Turn right and park near the information kiosk.

Due to infrequent maintenance and the wide range of road conditions that you might encounter, it is strongly recommended that high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicles are used for access to the Wilderness boundary.

Maps

Digital and paper maps are critical tools for wilderness visitors. Online maps can help you plan and prepare for your visit ahead of time. You can also carry digital maps with you on your GPS unit or other handheld GPS device. Having a paper map with you in the backcountry, as well as solid orienteering skills, however, ensures that you can still route-find in the event that your electronic device fails.

Online Maps

Interactive Map of the Eagletail Mountains Wilderness
Google Earth

Arizona Wildernesses

Printed Maps

Fetching MyTopo from Database

USGS Store

Rules & Regulations

Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport is generally prohibited in all wilderness areas. This includes the use of motor vehicles, motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts, portage wheels, and the landing of aircraft including helicopters.

Wilderness-Specific Regulations

Learn more about why regulations may be necessary in wilderness.

Contacts

Applicable Wilderness Law(s)

Public Law 101-628

Date: November 28, 1990
Acreage: 89,000 acres

Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990 - Public law 101-628 (11/28/1990) To provide for the designation of certain public lands as wilderness in the State of Arizona

For more information (To download or see all affected wilderness areas) visit our law library for 101-628 or special provisions for 101-628 or legislative history for 101-628.

Want to Volunteer for Wilderness?

People who volunteer their time to steward our wilderness areas are an essential part of wilderness management. Contact the following groups to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Groups are listed alphabetically by the state(s) in which the wilderness is located.